Local News

Grand Canyon, Ariz. – On Tuesday, June 13 at approximately 7:45 pm, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting an overdue hiker. The hiker, 72 year old Raafat (Ralph) Amin Nasser-Eddin of Los Angeles, CA and Lebanon, matches the description of an individual reported to park rangers on Sunday, June 11.

On Sunday morning, June 11, rangers received a report of a disoriented hiker at Hermit Camp. A member of Grand Canyon’s search and rescue team hiked the Hermit Trail to the Colorado River June 11 and June 12 and was unable to locate the individual.

Nasser-Eddin is described as a 72 year old male, 6’ tall, 170 pounds, with gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen carrying a reusable shopping bag, a gallon jug of water, and wearing a black and white ball cap, a green plaid shirt, and khaki shorts. Nasser-Eddin had reservations to stay at Phantom Ranch.

Today’s operations include a hasty search of four ground teams of two people each and aerial searches with the park helicopter. Search efforts today will focus on the Hermit, Tonto, and Boucher trails.

In addition to the search and rescue operation, the National Park Service is also conducting a missing persons investigation. No further information is available at this time. Any individual with information on the location of Raafat (Ralph) Nasser-Eddin should call the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch Tipline at 888-653-0009, text 202-379-4761, or email nps_isb@nps.gov.